Bears, lynxes, wolves return to Czech Republic

The last week has seen numerous reports about how wild animals like wolves,
lynxes and bears have returned to the Czech Republic. Organisations
monitoring these animals like Friends of the Earth say there are small
numbers in places like the Beskydy Mountains on the Slovak border. Jan
Velinger spoke to the group’s Miroslav Kutal who spent the weekend in the
field monitoring their numbers.

“We have a lot of data from the last decade about large omnivores and
carnivores in the Beskydy and Šumava Mountains and we can now say that
these large animals are present in the Czech Republic. In the Beskydy
Mountains we have two packs of wolves, and about 20 lynx, with an
additional 50 in other areas. And we also have some bears: from one to five
bears.”

My understanding is that there were bears here in previous centuries but
that there was then a large gap. Where are these new specimens coming from?

“All of the large carnivores come from Slovakia, where there are much
higher populations than in the Czech Republic. The bears also come from
there, the Beskydy are right on the Slovak border. They know no borders of
course and can cross into the Czech Republic.”

Does that mean that we can expect a higher number of such animals in the
future?

“It’s possible but there are some problems, among them poaching and
migration barriers. We are currently checking conditions for bears in our
mountains and many areas are suitable. But it is often difficult for the
animals: either they are illegally hunted or they can not overcome barriers
such as highways. We take part in decision processes concerning highways as
well as new built areas versus migration corridors. We deal with
authorities and locals to try and keep areas and corridors open.”

On a different note, many Czechs enjoy the outdoors: do you have any
recommendations, for example, for tourists?

“Wolves and lynxes are not dangerous for tourists. The only problem can
with bears. It is recommended to not enter closed parts of nature reserves,
where they could encounter bears feeding on blueberries and other berries.
As long as tourists keep to marked paths, I don’t think problems are
likely.”